A new low… bad LGS story.

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WestKentucky

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Western Kentucky
Moved recently, and have been away from the area I’m in now for 5 years. Things have changed and the old haunts are all gone, replaced by cigarette outlets, cheap takeout joints, and a parking lot or two. Sad story, but it’s part of life.

On with the show… I made a lowball offer on a stripped revolver frame. It’s an old H&R 733, but that doesn’t matter. I found an FFL and called them. Phone call was good, so they go the green light for my transfer. They discount transfers for people who use their app… that should have been a clue. USPS said the package arrived Saturday. I got there today, told them what I was expecting, and out from the back they brought a beautiful milsurp 1911. Sadly I had to correct their mistake. Out from the back round 2, a S&W j frame pre-lock with gorgeous grips, and again I had to correct them. They tried again and finally dug up a box that contained my stripped frame. It was not in their log book yet, so that took a couple minutes. Then they gave me a 4473 which looked different than I was used to and took the info from it and typed it into a background check database. Maybe that should say type-o-ed it because I got a hold, and as soon as the hold popped up the phone rang and they said it was TBI. The guy at the computer is typing away while talking to the person on the phone correcting his error, and he tells me that they are starting over but they said that the hold would change to proceed quickly now that his mistake was fixed. Great, a little long, but ok. Guy seemed new, I wasn’t in a hurry so whatever. He got a pass on that and he was polite the entire time. The other guys though…

While all of this transpired I felt ashamed to even be in the place. The workers were all hiding behind racks and such making very inappropriate comments about other customers and 2 coworkers. Comments about a generally attractive young lady and how long it would take…, a customer with a physical handicap and how he couldn’t shoot anyway with “that thing” on the end of his arm. The coworkers were dumb, know it all, posers according to the manager, and he was considering firing one of them but dude has a smokin hot sister. A policeman came in and then comments were made about police in general. I was trying to avoid it all and check out new toys I had never seen.

I would have left had it not been for my background check processing and that I would have had to pay to ship the gun somewhere else. I felt like a hostage honestly, just wanted to finish the the transaction and get away. It’s hard to be worse than the shop owner who called me an A-hole at a shop literally riddled with dog poop, but this one now holds the crown. Oh and the discount for using the app, it’s kinda deceptive in how they promote it. They did give me $10 off for having the app but since I had not actually done anything on it they said they normally wouldn’t unless I had booked range time or something.

This lgs is a one and done for me.
 
Sad. I guess LGS aren’t immune from the same less-than-stellar employee pools every other business is wading in.

All businesses must realize they’re really people-first businesses: quality employees and customer service keep you in business. When you run into frat house antics and incompetent leadership like that, it’s amazing that some folks still scratch their heads and wonder why on line sales are shuttering brick and mortar stores?

Sorry about your experience. At least you can keep us apprised on how the revolver restoration goes :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
we have a shop in our town with a guy behind the counter with some kind of weird sarcastic attitude. they have a great inventory but i avoid doing business with them anymore than i have to - there's not much to pick from locally unless i want to drive 25 miles in heavy traffic.

i wish they would understand that i would buy most of my ammo and various accouterments from them if i didn't always leave their store feeling insulted. but hey, poopyheads! CCI gives free shipping on orders over a hundred bucks and that's very tempting! and cleaning supplies and oil and holsters and everything that doesn't go bang can be bought from amazon! and nobody makes me feel like i'm annoying them!

they stay in business because there's only one other store in town, with lots less inventory.
 
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Glad you finally got your frame.

Of the numerous LGS here in Northern Nevada. There's only 3 that gets my business. I only go to others if they don't have what I need. A couple I wouldn't go to unless I'm desperate and don't want to wait for it ordered online.
 
Of the several gun shops in my area, there is one I frequent (I feel like Norm going into Cheers, where everyone greets him by name); they immediately pull something fantastic new (used) piece out of the back knowing that I won't be able to resist it... But then there's two or three shops I only go in to see if by some chance they've gotten something in that I can't live without -- same type of shoddy service each with a couple 24-year-old guys who apparently spent 12 years in SF or NSW by the way they talk... Profiling customers, pickin' and choosing who they're gonna grace with their attention, can't get through the first couple lines on a form without multiple errors, don't know anything about revolvers or hunting rifles.

I feel your pain, OP. 'Tis sad. I feel as though when I was growing up, the expertise level in our gun shops was much higher... or maybe I just didn't see what things were really like. But I remember guys working the counters who could almost instantly and expertly detect the condition of an old revolver, knew how it could be fixed or improved, further, could show me... and guys who'd tell us where the hot whitetail spots were gonna be in November, and which load would shoot best in my new rifle...
 
I guess I live a charmed life, the three closest LGS's to me are all top notch, friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable. The largest one is where I'm a range member which is a full retail outlet for everything firearms/archery/hunting. The others are family owned, small and good sources for used guns and gunsmith work. I stop in them often to check say hello and check out their stock.
 
The coworkers were dumb, know it all, posers according to the manager, and he was considering firing one of them but dude has a smokin hot sister.


Did the manager, himself, make that comment to you?

If so, it'd make me wonder if he'd give a pass and sell to a straw buyer as long she was 'smokin hot'.

Pics?




Of the stripped frame.
 
It seems to me like covid and stimulus money has changed businesses for the worse. Its not like it was a few years ago.

Having said that, my two nearest gunshops are both owned by friends. I am lucky, they don't gouge, but I don't chisel. I want them to be successful. I pretty much buy all my guns, ammo, and optics from one or the other of them. I have them on the lookout for good handi-rifles.
 
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I guess I’m lucky. Only once has a salesman in a shop been unprofessional. He was trying to sell a young woman a firearm completely unsuited to her or her needs.

I intervened and suggested the woman speak to the owner. She did and ended up with a good choice for her.

A short time later I was back in the shop. The salesman was gone. I asked the owner and he said they didn’t do business that way.

Sadly the shop is gone. The owner passed and his family closed it.

There are three things I’ve found help in any transaction. Be courteous, be professional and be patient. You can’t avoid all of the world’s idiots. But one lives in hope that they might learn.
 
Company had just opened a new office. I was hired as Tech Service Mag.

I was contacting old customers about my move. Service work and orders were coming in like crazy.

One of my salesman comes in, says he has been trying to get into this place for months, did I have an inside contact? Would I go with him on call?

Appointment was made and we go. On the way, I stop and get donuts. Had set the appointment for 9:30, I knew all the techs would be in shop for morning break.

Introduced the salesman to the shop super and i took the donuts to the break room. I sit with guys until salesman comes out.

I talked with super about some problems the techs were having and equipment we had that would help them.

We left with a $5k order for equipment and a service contract to come in 2 weeks to calibrate and repair all of their equipment.

On the way back to the office, the salesman was sullen. He finally says, " I couldn't sell him anything and you walk in and get $12k in 10 minutes, I don't get it. "

I laughed, " YOU went in as a SALESMAN, intent on selling our newest whiz bang. I went in as a TECH, asked what they needed help with and offered a solution. "

He went bottom to top in sales in 6 months.

The term is customer SERVICE, not customer SALES. Too many don't know, don't care, or ignore the fact.
 
Seedy Character
I laughed, " YOU went in as a SALESMAN, intent on selling our newest whiz bang. I went in as a TECH, asked what they needed help with and offered a solution. "

Exactly! The salesman who comes in and asks, "What can I sell you today?" probably won't sell much of anything. Now if he tries saying something like "How can I help your business today?" he might get a better understanding what the client really needs and see if he can supply it.
 
Being in a service oriented industry or two over the years there is one thing that helps you gain customer confidence. That is ACTUALLY knowing your product and being able to articulate how YOU can help THEM make their job easier. Being able to listen, act, close the transaction, and move on when you start to spend an excessive amount of time, so then be able to help another client with their problems work well. This is especially true when in the firearms trade. Wanna be mall cops, SPEC OPS, and secret agents are such a turn off! Just sayi'n.
 
I was pondering the issue of customer service and why so many gun shops fail miserably.

In my experience, the best local gun shops are the ones that cultivate relationships. They don't need to have the best prices on everything or the biggest selection.

I can go into my two favorite LGS and they know that I might've just stopped by to shoot the breeze, say hi, and maybe check if they'd got a nifty used old gun in but really, have no plan to buy anything at all that day... But they're perfectly willing to talk guns, politics, fishing, football, kids, grandkids for an hour or longer, even knowing I'm not gonna buy anything that day -- And they also know that I've bought at least ten guns from the shop in the past few months and that I believe in supporting local business (even if I have to pay a little more). The owners and the guys that work for them are good with that. No pressure to buy, no war stories, no pretending to know more than they know. But we commiserate about the sorry state of governance in our state, have some laughs, catch up on family news, it's all good.
 
I used to use a LGS for my transfers that was kind of like some weird private club where members do whatever they want, including "checking out" guns waiting for transfer. One guy actually started cleaning one of my guns as I was picking it up! The "last straw" for me was when the owner went full doofus and sent guns all over the country to wrong buyers, then he forgot to tell me when one of them came back for a couple of weeks with the buyer hounding me endlessly. His prices on accessories wasn't too bad, but his used prices would make me laugh sometimes and get angry other times. A $350 gun on GB would be $450-500 there, and most of the time, the GB gun was a much better gun. I found someone a lot closer for the same price on transfers and haven't been back since.
 
LGS culture has changed and will continue to change (some for the good and some for the bad). An assumption of professional performance in any business today seems to be waning a bit; that will improve as badly managed businesses tend to disappear. Make a personal choice and do not shop bad businesses - there are still plenty of good choices out there.
 
We've got a range/gun store like that here that's been around forever.

The last time I was on the range, I had guns pointed at me twice in fifteen minutes. Despite the huge window, staff is completely blind to the goings on behind them. Plus it's filthy.

The last time I was in the store, one of their layabout buddies was hanging out at the counter doing his Andrew "Dice" Clay tribute act.

I haven't been back in years. There are too many other places not frequented by extras from a Steven Sagall movie.
 
I used to use a LGS for my transfers that was kind of like some weird private club where members do whatever they want, including "checking out" guns waiting for transfer. One guy actually started cleaning one of my guns as I was picking it up! The "last straw" for me was when the owner went full doofus and sent guns all over the country to wrong buyers, then he forgot to tell me when one of them came back for a couple of weeks with the buyer hounding me endlessly. His prices on accessories wasn't too bad, but his used prices would make me laugh sometimes and get angry other times. A $350 gun on GB would be $450-500 there, and most of the time, the GB gun was a much better gun. I found someone a lot closer for the same price on transfers and haven't been back since.

There used to be ONE gun store in the city of Cleveland. Their prices were as bizarre as the plot of a Clive Barker novel. I remember them selling Taurus PT-99s for $150-200 more than what real Berettas were going for anywhere else. They went out of business in the '80s.
 
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